1996 Part 10 - Score

Score
For 1996, Score issued a 517-card set in two series. The cards were printed on white card stock and are pretty thin. Score first appeared in 1988 and I've never really cared for them. This set is no exception. I think it's pretty boring and very derivative of other sets from the period, such as Collector's Choice. The cards are glossy and feature a large picture on the back. The base cards mostly featured vertically oriented cards with horizontally oriented backs. The base card I chosed to represent the set also has a horizontal front. I have a number of Ripken cards celebrating his milestone consecutive games played streak. Score also included an insert card of the milestone inserted at 1:300 packs.

I never bought much of this when it was new. I guess that about half of the 1996 Score cards I have now I got in repacks. I suspect there is a lot of unopened packs of this around.

Cal Ripken Jr. #60
Mark Wohlers # 202. One of several subsets, this one featured pitchers.
F. P. Santangelo #256. The rookie cards featured a different design from the base card for the front and back.
Jim Edmonds #359. Another subset, the Star Struck cards featured players who had a good year in 1995.
Greg Maddux #275. A Chase Program Checklist card. This was a listing of the insert cards available. I think this is Greg Maddux.
Dante Bichette #271 National League Checklist Card. I always prefer checklist cards which are part of the set and feature a player photograph.
Score Dugout Collection

This is a parallel set with a gold foil border and the Dugout Collection logo on the back. These were inserted 1:3 packs. The parallel set only had 110 cards in it.

Barry Bonds $65. I'm pretty sure I pulled this from a pack in 1996. According to Beckett the Dugout Collection cards are worth up to 4x the regular cards.


Johnny Damon #103. Remember when Damon played with the Royals?
Jason Isringhausen #105. Jason was 9-2 in his 1995 rookie year as a starter but only 6-14 in 1996. In 1999 he will be converted into a full-time reliever and save a lot of games for Oakland and St. Louis.

Score Dugout Collection Artist's Proof
Another parallel set. The Artist's Proof was a common theme in Pinnacle cards in 1996. These look pretty much the same as the regular Dugout Collection with the addition of the Artist's Proof label on the front. These were inserted 1:33 packs and I don't have too many of them.

Jim Thome #6. I actually have all three versions of this card.
Score Big Bats
This insert set was randomly inserted at 1:31 packs. It features a dufex foil background on the front and glossy back. There are 20 cards in the set. I'm pretty sure I pulled this from a pack back in 1996.

Score Diamond Aces
A 30-card insert set (1:8) found in Series 1 jumbo packs. I'm not sure where or when I got this. No, Bonds wasn't a Pirate in 1996, this card celebrates his 1986 season.

Score Dream Team
A 9-card insert (1:72). This would have been a hard pull. I bought this for $4.00 on eBay in September 2004. Beckett lists this card at $15.00 and therefore one of the top cards in the Score issue. It features a refractive foil background and is an attractive card.

Score Future Franchise
A 16-card insert set (1:72). Another tough pull which I paid $4.00 for in September 2004. Chipper was coming off is 1995 rookie season when he finished 2nd in the ROY voting. In 1996 he hit .309 and had 33 home runs. I think the future had arrived.

Score Gold Stars
A 30-card set inserted at 1:15 in Series 2 packs. I probably got this from a pack. It features a large gold foil bar and star on the bottom front. 1995 was Sanders best year. '96 ' and '97 saw limited playing time and he never really returned to the stats he had in 1995.

Score Numbers Game
Another 30-card set inserted at 1:15 packs. The back features a collection of impressive numbers from the player's career.

Score Reflexions
A 20-card set inserted at 1:15 in Series 1 packs. I paid $3.99 for this in September 2004. The background is dufex. I only have the one card but I think they were trying to stress the similarity of these two pitchers, Mike Mussina and Greg Maddox. Both had won 19 games in 1995.

There are 3 other insert sets which I don't have: Score All-Stars, Score Power Pace and Score Titanic Taters. eBay here I come. 5 minutes later: I've got one of each coming in the mail.